1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector for connection to a module board including an eject mechanism selectively ejecting a module board.
2. Description of the Related Art
An expansion card such as a PC card including a module board therein is installed in an electronic device by being inserted in a card connector provided in the electronic device. The card connector has a card slot on its one end, and a PC card passes through the card slot at the time of installing the PC card. The card slot communicates with a card insertion opening provided in the outer periphery of a housing of an electronic device. In addition, such a card connector comprises an eject mechanism detachably holding a PC card, as shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-50434, for example.
The eject mechanism includes a rotary lever and an eject rod with a push button. The rotary lever moves a PC card in the card connector in a direction to separate the PC card from contact pins. The eject rod has a push button for rotationally moving the rotary lever. The push button of the eject rod is exposed at the outer periphery of a housing of an electronic device, which allows users to operate the button. The push button includes a fixing tab. The fixing tab functions as a lock mechanism that prevents a PC card in a card accommodating section of the card connector from being accidentally disconnected and ejected to the outside. The fixing tab prevents disconnection or ejection of the PC card held in the card accommodating section of the card connector by selectively protruding into a card passage at the same time as the push button protrudes, and thus by fixing to the end of the rear-end surface of the PC card.
Furthermore, there has also proposed a card connector including a connector body provided with a heat sink, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 2005-322498 and 2005-222537, for example. The heat sink serves as a radiator dissipating heat from a module board in a PC card in the card connector.